(27) runs out a single during the ninth inning of the game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. The Red Sox won 6-1. Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Before the All-Star Announcements
This has been an exciting All-Star voting season, which officially ended on July 2. This has been the first season that hand ballots were not used at baseball stadiums to select the All-Star starters. The vote has solely been done via MLB.com and Kansas City Royals’ fans took full advantage of this system voting “Royal Blue” this season, and at one time had eight Royals leading the votes. Other team’s fans started seeing what the Royals’ fans were doing and started voting and spreading the word. Some of the Royals starters were dethroned but did they regain their crown at the end of the voting process?
While there has been much discussion on most positions on the AL All-Star team.The biggest controversy tended to be at second base where Jose Altuve had the early lead, then fell behind to a below average player in Omar Infante. The AL second base starter has been discussed across the nation as people tried to justify how someone with zero homers and hovering around a .200 batting average could be beating Altuve. Astros social media has made a big push to get Altuve in as the starter, because otherwise he might not make the team with Jason Kipnis having a great year.
That’s the problem with voting “Royal Blue,” because it denies more deserving players a chance to play in the game. I am a die-hard Astros fan, but I only voted for my hometown players who deserve to go. The second half 2014 Chris Carter would have got my vote, but this 2015 version of Carter is one I would not vote for. Luis Valbuena has 19 home runs, but he should not get any of Josh Donaldson‘s votes. It wouldn’t surprise you too much that I did vote for Carlos Correa to be an All-Star, I wrote about it here, Carlos Correa Should be on the 2015 All-Star Team.
With this being said, let’s look at who was selected to the 2015 AL All-Star team.
Continue…
Next: The Infielders and Catchers
The Infielders and Catchers
Jul 1, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson (20) steps on third base as he rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Boston Red Sox in the eighth inning at Rogers Centre. The Jays won 11-2. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Perez received 13, 747,294 of the votes at catcher; this is his 3rd All-Star selection and first start. In a year where there are not really any standout catchers in the American League, Perez’s stats lead to the vote. HE was one of the most derving Royals player to make the team.
Cabrera received 13,834,271 votes to be the starter at first base, this is his 10th-time selection to the team, and third time starting. It surprises me that Cabrera has only been voted into the All-Star game as the starter three times. He was definitely the most deserving, but he just went to the DL and will not be able to play.
Altuve was a surprise here because he fell so far behind Omar Infante but won the starting position with the lowest amount of votes with 9,634,464. The reason he had so few votes was while Astros’ fans were voting Altuve, Indians’ fans were probably voting for Jason Kipnis. It’s Jose Altuve’s third selection and first start in the All-Star game. The Astros are in first place because of his great all-around play, he deserves this.
This was the no-brainer of the All-Star voting process, Josh Donaldson is one of the best fielders/hitters in the game today. He received the most votes with 14,090,188 of them. This is his second start and selection into the All-Star Game roster. He jumps into the stands to catch balls, makes great throws, and can bring rain with his home runs. Donaldson has the same number of home runs as Valbuena but look at his other stats, the right choice here.
As I wrote earlier, the shortstop class has some good players, but no one really stands out. The shortstops up for consideration for the backup role are Xander Bogaerts, Jose Iglesias, and Carlos Correa. Bogaerts offers more in the power department; Iglesias offers better average and defence, and Correa is the Mr. Everything, who does not have enough experience left. I could have seen Bogaerts getting the starting gig over Escobar, but the fans voted “Royal Blue.” Escobar once was full of promise but has turned out to be a slightly above average shortstop, but no one else ran away with the vote. We will find out tomorrow if Correa gets chosen as a reserve or a finalist in the Final Vote.
The great all-around Subway eating Trout received the second highest amount of votes in the AL with 14,090,188. At one point, voting “Royal Blue” almost had Royals outfielder Alex Rios almost overtaking Trout at one point, which would have been the worst thing for baseball. Trout is the golden boy of baseball, but could have a challenger in Carlos Correa pretty soon with the way that he is playing. Trout has limited his strikeouts this year and was selected as the AL MVP last year.
The World Series MVP Cain offers an all around game but won’t hit more than 15-20 homers in a season. He has decent speed and can hit for average, and he is now a name in baseball with his play in the playoffs last year for the Royals. Are there other players who could have started over Cain? Yes, but I’m okay with this selection, he received 12,399,127 votes.
Gordon received 10,609,006 votes to become a starter in the All-Star game. This one is a head scratcher because his numbers don’t scream All-Star. I can list about ten outfielders including Adam Jones and George Springer who could have been better choices. However, he is a product of the vote “Royal Blue” movement which could lead to the change in the way votes are collected. He received 10,609,006 votes to receive this honor.
Cruz is one of the game’s greatest sluggers, even though he has slowed down recently. He is playing for a fourth-place Mariners team, which you can not say is his fault with his numbers this year. He is also a noted Astros killer, so I have to give him respect. He barely was able to beat out the Royals’ Kendrys Morales for the DH slot, which is a good choice by the fans. He received 10,632,184 votes to receive this honor.
The Astros ace should not only make the All-Star team, he should be the starting pitcher for the team. The lefty has not been scored upon in his last 17 innings. The late-blooming star had a rough 2013, but has come back to become one of the top pitchers in baseball. The two main pitchers in line for the All-Star start is Keuchel and Chris Sale. It’s up to Ned Yost to who gets the start. Chris Archer and Sonny Gray are also in line to get the start for the AL.
Stats from FanGraphs: 10-3/ 2.03 ERA/ 102 strikeouts in 124.1 innings
The reliever is one of the best in baseball, despite the bad inning today versus the Red Sox. He is the true definition of a fireman, with his ability to come into a critical situations and limit the damage.
Stats from FanGraphs: 4-1/ .93 ERA/ 39 strikeouts in 38.2 innings.
Carlos Correa
The young shortstop could end up on the Final Vote for the last slot on the American League, because he is that good. You can read more of my thoughts here Carlos Correa Should be on the 2015 All-Star Team.
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